After committee, Senate Education Committee Chairman Sen. Phil Pavlov, R-St. Clair Township, issued the following statement on Common Core and the need for SB 826.

“It’s absolutely wrong the way Common Core was imposed on the states. States and local school districts — not the federal government — should be in charge of education policy.

“Not surprisingly, Common Core has been a disastrous national experiment. It is failing in the classroom, frustrating parents, short-changing students and usurping local control.

“It is time to set quality Michigan standards that put our schools and local communities back in control of education policy.

“Senate Bill 826 would repeal the state’s current, failed Common Core standards and replace them with the Massachusetts pre-Common Core standards. It would also direct state officials to align state testing with the new standards and require them to honor parents’ right to opt out their child from the state test.

“The Massachusetts Standards have been proven effective for educating students. These standards use education practices familiar to parents, are internationally benchmarked and competitive, are developmentally appropriate, and are not politically biased.

“A 2014 report by the group Business Leaders of Michigan found the Massachusetts Standards to be the best on every measure.

“Replacing Common Core will put children at the center of Michigan’s education system, raise expectations for Michigan students and better equip them to be good citizens.”